Doug Cornelius on compliance for private equity real estate
I had to scratch my head for a moment when reading the case against Jan Atlas. The SEC accused the lawyer of issuing legal opinions in which he falsified or omitted important facts in connection with an unregistered, fraudulent offering. “At the time he drafted the May 17 opinion letter, Atlas knew that certain facts … Read more »
The Security and Exchange Commission filed a complaint alleges that Mark Ray, a Denver resident, was the mastermind of a scheme for the purported purchase and immediate resale of large numbers of cattle. I don’t recall cattle showing up in the definition of a “security.” The first part of the scheme is labeled a Ponzi … Read more »
San Diego-based ANI Development LLC, its principal, Gina Champion-Cain, raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors to make short-term, high-interest loans to parties seeking to acquire California alcohol licenses. The SEC alleges, the investment opportunities were shams and diverted directed significant amounts of investor funds to other uses. Under California state law, liquor license … Read more »
I saw the recent case against Landon M. Smith for operating a real estate offering fraud and Ponzi scheme and jumped in to see if I could learn anything from the case. According to the SEC complaint, Smith held himself out as a “property wholesaler” who could earn significant returns on any funds invested with … Read more »
Facebook is looking to get into banking. Or Cryptocurrency. Whatever you call it, Facebook is looking to launch a global currency: Libra. The big problem is mashing together the current lack of trust in Facebook with the hype of blockchain technology. As a result, Libra talks little about Facebook and lots about blockchain. It’s not … Read more »
Of course the lawyerly answer is: “maybe.” Ronald Duane Dunham challenged his criminal conviction for securities fraud, arguing that the Cherokee Village lots he sold did not qualify as securities under the California Corporation Code. Mr. Dunham got in this position by persuading a number of elderly victims to invest over a million dollars with … Read more »
Actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission against real estate companies will catch my attention. A recent complaint against Robert Morgan and his affiliated real estate funds did just that. The SEC complaint is just charges, so we don’t know if the statements are true or what Morgan’s response will be. I’m just using it … Read more »
To show the markets that the Securities and Exchange Commission is not just about slapping around wrong-doers, but also trying to help people navigate the securities laws, the SEC’s FinHub published a framework for analyzing whether a digital asset is a security. The framework is not intended to be an exhaustive overview of the law; rather, … Read more »
Apparently, the blockchain makes everything cooler as a way to invest. Even securities laws shouldn’t get in the way. Reginald Buddy Ringgold, III thought he had escaped from the grasp of the SEC when a court refued to issue a preliminary injunction against his Blockvest ICO. The court changed its mind and slapped an injunction … Read more »
Last month, I wrote about the complaint filed by Securities and Exchange Commission against Reginald Ringgold and his Blockvest initial coin offering. One of the Blockvest’s marketing ploys was to note its membership in the Blockchain Exchange Commission. The SEC managed to obtain an emergency court order to halt a planned initial coin offering of … Read more »